Bears Fans Take a Breath

I woke up this morning pretty depressed. My Bears just got killed on Monday Night Football last night by the Philadelphia Eagles. The offensive line could not block, Jay Cutler was turning the ball over left and right, injuries were piling up, Jeremy Langford ran for only 28 yards… It was a brutal night. The Bears were three point favorites against a rookie quarterback and a head coach who was coaching high school football eight years ago, and got completely out played. It was a tough night.

This mourning I put on Chicago sports radio, read the Chicago Tribune sports section, read Twitter, and looked at NFL power rankings and everybody was down on the Bears. People have the Bears season over already after two games. Chris Simms of Bleacher Report, had the Bears ranked as the 32nd team in the NFL. Dan Bernstein declared the season over and was thinking about firing General Manager Ryan Pace and Head Coach John Fox already.

And here is what Bears fans need to hear… This team is going to be fine. Last year the Houston Texans started their season 0-2 then 1-4. Their starting quarterback Brain Hoyer got pulled at halftime in the first game of the season. Their team looked like a complete dumpster fire after getting killed by the Atlanta Falcons on a Thursday Night Football game in Week 4. However the Texans finished their last eight games 6-2 and made the playoffs. Last year the Kansas City Chiefs started their season 1-5, lost their star running back Jamaal Charles to an ACL tear and still made it to the AFC Division Round. And the biggest example of all is the 2014 New England Patriots. The Patriots were 2-1 going into Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football. The Chiefs beat the Patriots 41-14 and everybody overreacted. Boston fans were thinking about trading Tom Brady and going with Jimmy Garoppolo. Trent Dilfer an ESPN analyst said after the game, “We saw a weak team. The New England Patriots, let’s face it. They’re not good anymore.” The Patriots ended up winning the Super Bowl that year. You get the picture. Fans and analysts, especially in big sports towns, love to overreact.

Have the Bears looked bad the last two games? Yes. Is the season over? No. John Fox is a good coach. Vic Fangio is one of the best defensive coordinators in the league. This team needs time to figure it out. Their offensive line was reshuffled and two players switched positions five games before the season. The 2014 Bears season was one of the worst years of my life. That team had playoff and Super Bowl expectations and completely faltered. However, this team is not going to crumble like that one. John Fox is a way better coach than Marc Trestman and Vic Fangio is on a different planet than Mel Tucker.

It does not look good right now but it’s better that what happened last night happened in Week 2 rather than if it happened in Week 11.

Maybe I’m wrong and the Bears go on to win three games this year and compete for the #1 draft pick. However, do not call a season “over” after just two games because previous years of the NFL have proved that to be an overreaction.